Some conventional systems use hydrogen as a fuel source for energy, and potentially as a replacement for petroleum, other non-renewable fuels, or other sources of alternative energy. Hydrogen may be useful in mobile applications such as vehicles, where it may be stored on the vehicle for use with a fuel cell. The hydrogen may be stored in physical or chemical form. The physical form of storage includes hydrogen liquification or compression, which may be energy intensive processes themselves. The chemical form of storage includes storing hydrogen in metal hydrides, ammonia, carbohydrates, and others as is known in the art.
Reversible systems for chemical storage often utilize a complex hydride or sorbent compound as the storage medium. Hydrogen storage typically occurs via an exothermic absorption (uptake) reaction and an endothermic desorption reaction from the medium. Heat management and control over heat transfer and temperatures may impact the lifetime, efficiency, storage capability, or the like of the hydrogen storage medium. For example, failure to supply or remove sufficient heat from the storage system may result in degradation of vehicle performance (e.g., insufficient hydrogen available to power the fuel cell) or excessively long refill times.